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East Bengal fans were left fuming in the 19th minute of their clash against Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 on Wednesday after the Blues were awarded a penalty for an alleged foul from Mandar Rao Desai on skipper Sunil Chhetri. However, the replays showed minimal contact between the East Bengal full-back and the veteran forward.
But referee Senthil Nathan deemed the play an ill-timed tackle inside the box and awarded the penalty. Chhetri then stepped up to take the spot-kick and managed to outwit Prabhsukhan Singh Gill and neutralize the lead the Red and Gold Brigade had taken a few minutes back through Naorem Mahesh Singh.
The Kolkata giants now go into the second half on level pegging and have all the reason to feel hard done by.
The protests weren't just to the Shree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore, but East Bengal faithful took to social media to protest the refereeing calls and the 39-year-old's alleged dive.
The fans also claimed that rather than awarding a penalty to the Blues, Chhetri should've been carded right away for his attempt at play-acting.
Here are some of the best reactions:
Last season too, Sunil Chhetri was drawn into a massive controversy after his quickly-taken freekick against Kerala Blasters led the infamous walkout from the Yellow Army and their head coach Ivan Vukomanovic in the ISL play-offs.
Victory against East Bengal pivotal for Bengaluru FC to turn around their underwhelming season
Bengaluru FC have had a lackluster start to their ISL 2023-24 season, slumping to two consecutive defeats.
In their opening match, the Blues were left humbled by arch-rivals Kerala Blasters as they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat. In the next game, Mohun Bagan SG got the better of Simon Grayson's men in a tightly-contested encounter.
Hence, for Sunil Chhetri and company, it will be pivotal to return to winning ways sooner rather than later and channel the momentum that they built up earlier in the year. The ongoing home match against East Bengal is seemingly the perfect place to start their recovery journey.
